


Memories of Snow and Ice

by Purplehuntress3



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, bittersweet shit, memories of childhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 14:37:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15536418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purplehuntress3/pseuds/Purplehuntress3
Summary: Caleb and Fjord watch the snow fall, and remember kinder times.





	Memories of Snow and Ice

**Author's Note:**

> Hey holly work on your multichapter fic. Hey holly why dont you shut the fuck up and take this fluff.

The two stood in the doorway of the balcony, too cold to truly leave the building. From here it was hard to see the snowfall over the city, the clouded night made sure no moonlight came through. If you looked hard enough though, you could see the streets slowly begin to turn white as the snow piled by the street lights. The balcony itself was slowly beginning to be covered. They stood in silence, before Caleb spoke.   
  
“When I was eight, there was a harsh winter.” He said softly, paying no attention to the half orc next to him and instead he stared out into the dark. “The snow piled so high that it completely covered the doors and windows on the bottom floor. I remember waking up after 3 days, _ 3 days _ of blizzard, and finally seeing the sun spill through my window. When I ran up and threw the curtains to the side, I saw only white. The entire town was  _ coated _ in it. I was so confused when I looked down and saw the ground only a foot away, at first I thought that someone had shrunk the town, it looked so small like that. My mother walked in then, in her arms my winter clothes and snow shoes. She told me we were going to have to go out the window and get some food, since the blizzard had prevented us from getting food. As I got dressed my mother made me put on even more clothing, extra trousers, extra shirts, to make sure I was warm. By the end I struggled to move. I was so excited that before I even had my snowshoes on- which were actually just tennis rackets- I was diving out the window into the snow. I sank 2 feet in! Up to my waist!” Fjord laughed at that, and Caleb finally turned away from the view and looked at him. The smile Caleb wore was one of pure happiness. It wasn’t big, but it was full of emotion that Fjord had never seen Caleb show.    
  
He looked back out and continued. “A few other children were out then, and while my mother went to get the food I went to play with them. A few of them had toboggans, and we all took turns in them as a few others dragged us along. The town was built in almost two halves you see, on a hill, and my house was on the top half. At some point, while I was on the toboggan, me and another boy got too close to the hill that lead to the rest of the village, and we both ended up sliding down. It was terrifying, but the good kind. The thrill of adrenaline as we practically flew down the hill. Of course that was when we got close to the end of the road where the Mayor’s house was. You see, snow isn’t the best frictional material. Luckily, I had noticed and had started to stick my hands in the snow -gods was it cold!- but the other boy,” he started to laugh, and as he continued to talk it bubble out between words, “the boy did not see it till too late. Before he knew it, he was crashing through the Mayor’s bedroom window!” Caleb was full on laughing now, one had was clutching his stomach and the other grasped hold of Fjord’s bicep. Fjord laughed along with him, grabbing the hand on his bicep like he would when Caleb went into Frumpkin. Eventually the laughter faded slightly, and Caleb continued. “The mayor, he was this dwarf. Full long greying beard that came down to his knees. When the boy came through the window, all I heard was curses coming from him, before he ran up to the window and looked out. You could see the shock, even if most of the lower half of his face was covered in hair. I saw him turn and grab something, and then he turned and threw- one handed!- the boy back out of the window, the toboggan following soon after.”   
  
Caleb was now leaning heavily into Fjord’s side, and the taller man had his arm wrapped around his shoulders. A silence settled over the two, the only sound the wind as it howled and the crackling fire behind them. Fjord smiled and looked down at Caleb, about to thank him for sharing the memory when he saw that he was crying.    
  
“Caleb?” He pulled the wizard from out beneath his arm and held onto his shoulders with both hands. “Caleb, darling whats wrong?”    
  
The man brought up his hands to try and wipe away his tears, but every time he did more fell. “I- Winters like this remind me of my mother.” He sobbed out, looking up at Fjord. “My father, he was away during winter on march. He always left just after the harvest so he could help the farmers. So winters were my mother and I’s thing. Curled up by the fire as the snow fell fast and the wind blew wild. Reading stories and drinking hot cocoa, that was our thing.” He tucked himself under Fjord’s chin and grasped onto his shirt. “Sometimes... sometimes I deeply miss my childhood innocence. How happy and free I once was. I regret many things, too many to count, but my biggest is leaving my parents for the academy.”    
  
Fjord held Caleb tight as he let the man cry into his shirt. Minutes passed and as Caleb’s crying begin to slow, Fjord spoke.   
  
“Before I joined the group, I had never seen a proper winter of my own -shocking I know. The winters of Port Damali were mostly rain, a change from the heat of the summer. And when I started sailing, well we avoided the harsh winter places. Sailing in storms is one thing, sailing in blizzards is another.” He stroked Caleb’s hair as a specific memory came to mind.    
  
“However, one summer we went to Icehaven, into the frozen depths. It of course snows almost year round up there, and the sea is filled with large icebergs. We only kept one sail up then, so we’d move slowly and have more mobility.    
  
“One morning I was up first. We’d dropped anchor near a small island covered in ice, so we knew the ocean floor wasn’t too deep. I had a broom in my hands, in case it had snowed. You gotta get that off before it made the deck wet. Wet decks are slippery, and if there is one place you don't want to end up in the water, it's the frozen depths. So it’s early, Sun barely up. And I’m what, 15/16 at this point, so I was not enjoying being up this early. And I open the door to the deck to find a  _ seal _ of all things.” Fjord stepped back a bit, staying close but far enough that he could use his arms to help him describe the creature. “It was small, definitely not full grown, but it was big enough that it could be away from its parents. I had no idea what to do. We had many different protocols for if things got on the ship: pirates, guards, a kraken. But none for a seal. So I panicked and started to... brush the seal off.” Caleb gave a weak giggle. “As we got to the edge and I was ready to push it back into the water, I saw a large, black dorsal fin. And then another. And another. Now, I’d seen some big beasts in the sea. I saw a Beluga whale once, which reached about 18ft long. The biggest of these was easily 24. I was just staring out at these creatures and just thought “so that's why the seal is on the boat.”” Fjord smiled, remembering how cute that seal was. “Got to keep that seal for a bit. Named it Kipper. We had it on the boat for 3 weeks before we were leaving and I had to leave it behind on a piece of ice after checking the sea for more Orcas.”    
  
Fjord looked off into the night as he remembered more times with that seal. He was going to tell one when he felt Caleb’s hand sneak into his. He looked down at the human, and saw how Caleb smiled as he stared at their joint hands, gently swinging them back and forth.    
  
“I guess we both remember a sweeter time.” Caleb said softly.    
  
“Maybe.” Fjord said, and leaned in to press a kiss onto Caleb’s forehead. “But none of them are as sweet as you, darling.”   
  
Caleb snorted at that, pulled his hand away and turned into the room. “That was awful.” He called over his shoulder.    
  
Fjord laughed and closed the balcony doors, before following his lover inside.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos appreciated! Come find my at huntress-of-the-forest on tumblr.


End file.
